Brent Lambert Presents Yughagi Mancur
by Sinister2004
Summary: A tale involving Starfire, Knockout, Captain Cold, and Kanto. Not to mention a certain Halo who decides to go out of control.
1. Chapter 1

I live for the kill. It's what's been keeping me sane since the day my lover was taken from me by Kanto 13. Ironic, now that I bear the name of the one who slew the person I cared for the most. All my triumphs and all my woes can be traced back to one man and to one planet. Darkseid and Apokolips. Curse and bless my birthplace all at once! How can a man both hate and love his life? I struggle with that question daily. I find my best solution is to simply ignore the struggle and live for the kill.

Imagine my life for a moment. I am without a planet, without a culture, without a family, and without a people. You would look at me and think my glass was plenty more than half empty. I try my damndest not to look at myself that way otherwise I might just curl up in a corner and die. While Tamaran may be no more I still live and I will live for all of my people. Through me our people shall thrive and succeed and in me they will find hope. That is how I choose to view my life. Any other way and Starfire would be no more.

I bear the memories of three women and people honestly wonder why I act so much older than I look. I have three lifetimes worth of experience floating around in my head. Three! Count them good folks. So in a sense I guess I mentally have the experience of someone a century old. The older heroes usually tend to have sticks up their butts. I knew one quite personally. And I just might be that way if not for the life I've led and the ancient alien that is a part of me. The Aurakle in me is what helps make Halo who she is. It is the core of my being.

Sitting here in this prison I contemplate revenge against my betrayer. Superboy would have to answer to me for his ultimate betrayal. To leave me to rot in this unworthy cage! How dare he? His spine will become my necklace in due time. I wonder what my other Furies would think of me now. They would probably poke fun and call me shameful for falling for a stupid boy. The name of Knockout would be one to jester at on Apokolips. I will not see that occur. Not ever!

I've died and come back. Thousands have died by my soulless hands. Yet, they still call me small-time. It seems that no matter what I do and no matter how hard I try the name of Captain Cold will never be respected. Perhaps one day far from now the world will recognize and respect me for who I am. A genius and mastermind who never got his proper due. My time is coming. I can just feel it. Something splendid is going to head my way soon. I'll finally be able to put my intellect to proper use.

"Prison Break" 

**For the JLU2001 Fanfic Group**

**By: Brent Lambert **

Kanto had broken through the guards. Tumbled the security systems and snapped enough nightsticks to make him dream of the bastards. All that had taken him ten minutes. So for 50 minutes he's been staring at the prisoner he came to free. The prisoner who refuses to acknowledge his presence. Over the course of his time here Kanto had heard many pleas from the other inmates with promises of eternal loyalty and unending benefits. Kanto wanted none of that. He knew what he came here for and he wasn't leaving until he got it.

"What if I gave you your freedom this instance? Would you acknowledge me then?"

Len Snart looked up at the servant of Apokolips and snorted, "Freedom is relative. I'd be free of one prison and thrown into another. I am no fool."

"To deny what I'm offering you is the true sign of a fool!" Kanto yelled his impatience swelling.

Captain Cold shook his head as he continued to read The Catcher and The Rye, "You serve Darksied. I know of no more potent way to throw myself into slavery. Being a despot's dog is not my idea of freedom no matter how you might construe it."

Len wanted to be free of this prison more than anything. He hated staring at the same blank walls day after day. He wanted to be free. Revenge would be his, but he would do it on his own terms. If he allowed Kanto to free him he would owe a debt to the man and to Darksied. Stories had crossed his ear of those who failed Darksied and as much confidence as he had in himself Len knew there was still a good chance he might fail.

"I would never think of you as a person to fall for the propaganda of the heroes. Serving Darksied offers many rewards."

"I'm sure you're going to elaborate on these 'rewards'," Captain Cold smirked as he closed his book to hear Kanto out.

The servant of Apokolips smiled. He was beginning to get through to Len Snart. Perhaps upon his return trip home he would speak to the master of some way to diminish his fearsomeness among the villain population of Earth. Too many eager toadstools were in that group to have them all be afraid of Lord Darksied.

"You're making my job harder than expected," Kanto sighed as he folded his arms across his chest as a sign of annoyance.

"I'm a criminal. I make people's lives hard for a living."

"Point taken. Fine, I'll tell you of these rewards. My life has been an extremely long one. I've seen empires rise and fall. Wars come and go. You can't imagine the joy of knowing that time has lost its sway over you. It is a beautiful thing to behold. I assure you," Kanto explained thinking of when he was first made the immortal killer of Apokolips. He was the personal deliver of Darksied's wrath and had been for many centuries. Kanto was a lover of his work.

Cold laughed mockingly, "So you offer me immortality? I had expected something more honestly. Surely your big ol boss can give me more than that!"

Kanto's eyes focused in on Len and admittedly he felt a chill travel down his back, "Answer me honestly Cold. Do you think anything you have done or will do will be remembered a century from now? A thousand years? What I offer you is the chance to outlast your friends and your foes. I offer you the greatest freedom of all. The freedom of eternity."

Len laughed again. Partly at the fact a guy wearing a ridiculous purple and yellow costume had shaken him and partly because he just realized something, "So you're not doing this by the orders of Darksied?"

Pushing up his feather hat Kanto lifted a curious eyebrow at Len, "No. Was I that obvious?"

Cold shrugged his shoulders; "Darksied would have used mind control on me by now."

Finally Kanto asked, "Are you in or should I just move on elsewhere?"

Standing up Cold replied, "I'm in. What's the job?"

"We're freeing an ally of mine to help us with a treasure chase."

Tamaran must be restored. If there is nothing else I succeed at in my life I will bring back my people's home. I won't see my proud race reduced to refugees on some unfamiliar and unfriendly world. All of Tamaran deserves better. For quite some time I've been searching through whatever history of Tamaran remains to see if anything can be found that would help re-create my home. In my intense searching I did find something of worth.

The item is known as the Yughagi Mancur. The best Earth translation for it is The Star of Creation. The item is merely thought to be legend and I would have as easily written it off if not for my experiences on Earth. Often, things that were thought to be legend had some shred of truth to them. So I have now become determined to track down the Yughagi Mancur and restore Tamaran.

Some tell me I should give up and that Tamaran is just lost to Eternity. I refuse to believe that. My home, my people, except more of me than anyone else. I cannot let them down. Finding the Yughagi Mancur will be my sole purpose in life.

I have already found one clue that gives me profound hope. My clue was an ancient Tamarian text that was long believed lost. I found this text on a desolate desert world and it spoke of the Yughagi Mancur being held by a black tyrant. I firmly believe this black tyrant to be none other than Darksied. I can feel in my soul that this man holds the key to bringing back my lost Tamaran.

Charging into Apokolips would be foolhardy. I would surely end up dead, but all is not lost for a minion of Darksied is locked up in an Earthen prison. I will pay this Knockout a visit and see what she can possibly tell me about the Yughagi Mancur. If nothing then I'll move on and develop another avenue of approach. Either way I'm assured to have some fun as I'm sure that Knockout will put up some resistance to my questioning of her. She is after all a Fury and those women were untamable. How they managed to keep her locked away in prison was a feat I could not fathom.

Leaving to see Knockout feels me with more hope than I had anticipated it would. My idea was to keep my enthusiasm to a minimum because it was very likely that I could easily be disappointed. I don't take well to disappointment. It usually ends up with me hitting someone. In this case it'd probably be the Fury, but not like she didn't deserve it. Her hands had probably tortured more innocents than all of the Nazis of Earth combined. Her sister's reign of terror stretched across the ages. I'd be more than justified if I took a few licks here and there.

Snart felt more than justified in freezing a few of the guards here and there. Anyone who could get paid for keeping such a man as himself locked up deserved to be punished. Captain Cold was pure genius and made it known as he walked down the linoleum hallway freezing any guard that dared draw a gun or get to close to him.

Kanto perked up his hat and looked back at his companion, "Having a bit of fun are we? Don't get too carried away. You're going to attract attention."

"I think we've garnered plenty of attention just waltzing down this cell block like we own the place. If anything I'm covering our asses. Something you don't seem to want to have any part in," Captain Cold chastised.

"Your abilities are much more merciful than mines. If I were to get involved there would be a plethora of screams that the inmates would be able to entertain. As it is, I would prefer to keep this operation quick and quiet. Besides I can tell you need to blow some steam," Kanto chuckled.

Snart couldn't even begin to deny that. Every day of his imprisonment had built a little more rage within him. Every day of his imprisonment reminded him of his failings as a man. Len wanted to be above men and to be reminded of just how low he could fall was a rage builder. Kanto was reading him and Captain Cold didn't enjoy it. He much preferred to be the one doing the reading.

"You're right Kanto. I don't need you getting blood on my uniform. It's already in desperate need of a dry cleaning," Captain Cold joked.

_And your uniform is in dire need of redesign, _Captain Cold thought.

How Kanto managed to be respected amongst the courts of Apokolips with his fluorescent colored uniform was beyond Len. How someone so brightly colored could even be called an assassin puzzled Len even more. Of course he would voice none of those thoughts anytime soon. As much as he couldn't stand to look at Kanto the man was going to be his ticket to respect. A new level of respect. The kind of respect that common criminals give Batman. It would be his for the taking. All he had to do was keep his eyes from screaming at the mess of colors walking in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

"**Prison Break Pt. 2"**

**For the JLU2001 Fanfiction Group**

**By: Brent Lambert**

Tossing the last of the guards to the side Kanto stretched his arms wide and yawned. He was standing right in front of the cell of his bounty, Knockout. Bending down to eye the chained Knockout he said, "Well, we finally made it! Took forever to find you."

Knockout tugged on her chains wanting to pounce the assassin of Darkseid, "What do you want Kanto? Do you wish to laugh at me?"

"Babe, believe me it has nothing to do with laughing," Captain Cold commented seeing the visible rage that Knockout had for Kanto.

"Who asked for your opinion you mortal worm?" Knockout screamed growing more and more frustrated at the chains that held her prisoner.

Flipping out his gun Captain Cold pointed it the way of the red hear Fury, "Tone it down a bit before I ice you!"

Kanto smiled at the feistiness of his old and potentially new ally, "My friends lets stay calm and just talk."

Putting away his gun Cold said, "Just keep steroid woman cool and I'll do the same."

Ignoring the horrible puns that Cold was pulling out Kanto reassured Snart, "An easy task to accomplish my friend."

This comment caused Knockout to almost lose control, "You dare think me easy Kanto! I should smash your head!"

An arrogant laughed found its way out of Kanto's mouth, "Ahh but you won't. I have a wonderful offer to make that will quell your anger."

"And unlike me don't take long to respond. Fighting prison guards wasn't on my calendar for today," Captain Cold said as heard the march of footsteps headed their way.

Kanto heard the same sound as Snart, but knew better than to mistake it for footsteps. Someone was banging on something. Before he could express his thoughts the roof ripped open to reveal Starfire!

"You won't have to fight any guards. Just me!" Starfire yelled as she skydived towards the three troublemakers.

"Release me so I can smash this Tamarian slime!" Knockout yelled practically begging to be freed for the chance to fight.

Snart had absolutely no desire to fight an angry alien female so he quickly pulled out his gun and turned Knockout's entire prison cell into easily breakable ice, "Just make this quick! Time is money!"

Knockout smiled and leaped into the air. Her body collided with Starfire's and a loud smack echoed throughout the prison. The inmates cheered on as the two female titans began their struggle. Kanto turned a harsh glance to Snart, "You jumped the gun Cold! We could have taken Starfire!"

"Only in your wildest fantasies whore of Darkseid!" Starfire yelled as she flung Knockout into the ground. Concrete and steel gave way under the tremendous fall. Knockout didn't seem the least bit thrown off by the attack though.

"At least we're whores with worlds to return to," Knockout taunted as she jumped like a rabbit into the air and slammed her shoulder into Starfire's stomach. To the Fury's surprise Starfire grabbed Knockout's hair and flung her over her shoulder. The green clad warrior went crashing through the wall and out into the barren prison grounds.

"Such insults will quickly earn you an early grave!" Starfire yelled her eyes brimming over with energy. Knockout had hit her a very sensitive spot in the Tamarian's life and she would beat her until an apology was given. Though the location of the Yughagi Mancur would suffice as well. Starfire just knew that Darksied's goons knew about the item she sought. Fate was playing out far too much in her favor for it to be otherwise.

Kanto sighed at the destruction before him. He had to fight the urge to slap Cold senseless for his foolishness in unleashing Knockout; "I think we have quite the cat fight on our hands."

"Should I just make them both ice cubes?" Captain Cold asked eager to take out both females and just get the damn deal over with before Superman or Batman decided to show up. Hell, Nightwing would enough of a pain in the ass to deal with.

Kanto grabbed Snart's hand to keep him from reaching for his gun, "No, not yet. I want to see this play out some."

Captain Cold chuckled, "Yea, not often you get to see two barely clothed women go at it Superman style."

Snart could only imagine the type of awful women that Kanto probably had to deal with back home. The thought of it could probably make most men decide to be celibate. He couldn't blame Kanto too much for actually wanting to get entertained by females for a change.

"Carnal desires have nothing to do with this. I want to know Starfire's motives for coming here."

Cold felt that Kanto was thinking this situation through a bit too much. Why did it matter what Starfire was here for? What he should be thinking about is whether or not she has back up on the way. If all the Titans came barreling down on their hands they would have to make a fast break and hope that they didn't get cornered. Snart would freeze his way through some heroes before he let that happen though.

Being so entrapped in this thoughts prevented Snart from hearing the colliding of Knockout and Starfire's bodies as Knockout leapt through the hole she had just created. Delivering a right hook to the jaw Knockout exclaimed, "Strike me with your full power! Not petty taps!"

Starfire rolled with the punch and quickly maneuvered herself behind Knockout and delivered a kick to the back that sent Knockout crashing once more into the ground. The Tamarian woman laughed, "I want to hurt you Knockout. Not kill you!"

Kanto winced at the comment, "Ouch. Knockout set herself up for that one."

Captain Cold threw up his hands in defeat, "And this crazy broad is suppose to help us how?"

Fiery eyes beamed their way towards Snart. With a growl Knockout warned, "Speak ill of me again and I will snap your neck!"

"Side comments just won't work in this fight!" Starfire exclaimed as she barreled towards Knockout and delivered a volley of energy blasts that sent Knockout even further into the concrete of the building.

Knockout leaped up from the rubble created by her opponent and grabbed Starfire's shoulders with a death grip. Planting her feet in Starfire's stomach Knockout managed to flip herself in mid air and sent Starfire right into an unoccupied cell. The sound of the collision was enough that everyone in the vicinity of it had to cover their ears. Kanto's faith in Knockout was beginning to return. He had almost thought that the Fury had lost her touch.

Starfire arose from the mess with a distinct shade of gray covering her body. Dusting her shoulders off the Tamarian moved faster than Knockout had expected her to. With one quick swipe Starfire had a handful of hair and lifting Knockout up into the air. One question burned in her mind and it was finally time to ask it, "Where is the Yughagi Mancur?"

Kanto smiled at hearing the question. He knew Starfire was here for reason and now that he knew it was time to play his favorite game. The game of deception.

_The Yughagi Mancur was a weapon formed long ago by a race called the Mancolia. They were a race inserted in all manners of creation. We observed them seeding world after world with life in the hopes that one day their race would be remembered immortally for all their hard work. Sadly, nothing goes as planned and a virus destroyed the Mancolia civilization. Yet, we still watched even as the last remainder of the Mancolia civilization drifted in space. For thousands of years this "gift" stayed in the vacuum of the universe until it landed on a backwater planet. Now the jewel is lost, but it can be found. You must find the searcher if you are to avoid the hunter._

Halo awoke from her sleep. A cold sweat had made its way across her forehead and dribbled into her eyes. Wiping away the sweat the woman possessed of an alien couldn't help but to wonder what the Aurakle was trying to tell. Why was it being so damn evasive and not just giving her the straight answer? Halo smiled at her sudden reaction. Batman had once told her that if you had all the answers given to you at once then you should probably suspect there were more answers to be found.

Getting up out of her bed Halo made her way to the bathroom and looked at herself in the slightly cracked mirror. Sometimes staring into the mirror was a difficult task for the former heroine. She honestly wasn't sure who she was always looking at.

_Girl get a grip. It was just a bad dream. You gotta get up for work in a few hours._

Dragging herself back to bed she sluggishly pulled back the covers. Getting into the bed was a monumental task for the former Outsider. Closing her eyes was even more of one. The thought of what she was being told just kept bugging her. She couldn't shake this feeling that someone was about to come knocking on her door.

_Stop being paranoid. You let Batman rub off on you too much. Close your eyes. Go to sleep and make this paycheck a little bigger tomorrow. Lord knows you need more food in this place._

The wheels in Kanto's brain were turning even as Knockout and Starfire continued to bash on each other. He would play all of this to his advantage somehow. If he could pull what he was thinking off then he would have all the power he needed to escape the servitude of Darksied and forge his own path to power. Nothing would be able to stop him. Especially not the ever-tiresome New Gods.

"I don't know about this weapon, but you be sure to ask about when you're in the slave pits of Apokolips," Knockout suggested as she dodged a punch from Starfire and tackled her to the ground.

"You act as if they want you on Apokolips," Starfire said as she kicked Knockout in the stomach with her knee and flipped the Fury off of her.

"I've had just about enough!" Kanto yelled as he flung out two microchip-sized discs. One struck Knockout and the other struck Starfire. The two women were frozen in place instantly.

Snart stood his jaw nearly falling to the floor at the display. His shock quickly turned to angry disbelief, "You mean to tell me the whole time you could have just stopped both of these women dead in their tracks!"

Kanto smiled smugly, "Of course I could have, but as I told you I needed to know something. Now I know it. Starfire seeks the Star of Creation."

"You know of it!" Starfire yelled. She was unable to move any muscle below her neck. Kanto probably wanted her to be able to speak for whatever reason. The assassin more than likely wanted to swindle her into some deal to help him. She wasn't going to go for it.

"Yes, the jewel is among Darkseid's many treasures. It would be easy for me to take, but you would have to help me with a little venture I'm going in to," Kanto replied hoping that the look of rage on the Tamarian's face would be overtaken by curiosity. He had failed to see that change yet.

"I will never work for scum such as you! I will just rip the jewel from your master's dead fingers!" Starfire proclaimed wanting with all her might to blast Kanto to ribbons.

Knockout laughed wildly, "Foolish twit! Darkseid has bested the heroes of this world many times. You alone would be no challenge for him!"

Kanto nodded in agreement, "Hence why I'm giving this offer Starfire. Help me and you'll have the Yughagi Mancur."

"You lie whore of Apokolips! All your kind are deceivers and manipulators!" Starfire spat.

"Yes my dear we are all that, but I'm the only manipulator who wants to help you find your missing jewel," Kanto grinned.

There was a long silence before Starfire finally gave her answer, "Just what is that you're looking for?"

"I'm not sure precisely, but I know a certain Aurkale that does."


	3. Chapter 3

"**Prison Break Pt. 3"**

**For the JLU2001 Fanfiction Group**

**By: Brent Lambert**

"Ms. Harper can we get a move on please! We have hungry customers waiting outside for a halfway decent meal! I swear girl you can just be as slow as molasses sometimes. I bet your momma had the hardest time potty training you. I tell ya that just has to be some of the hardest times. Your momma is a saint for putting up with a child as slow as you. Jeebus gal them plates are at a lean. You gonna have them folks food all messed up and every which a way!"

Halo struggled with all her might to ignore the babbling of her senile manager, Ms. Coon. That woman could talk on and on about nothing and swear she was talking about world important affairs. Any other day Violet (among other names) could put up with it, but today she just wanted to crack. She hadn't been able to sleep at all. The whole thing about the Yughagi Mancur was just bothering her to no end. She couldn't get it off of her mind.

_Now the jewel is lost, but it can be found. You must find the searcher if you are to avoid the hunter_

That part of the message was what bugged Halo the most. Just who was the searcher she needed to find and who was the hunter she needed to avoid? The part of her that was Marissa Baron hated to be given only a bit of something and have the most important part held away from her. As she served out the double hamburgers and bacon melts she just wanted to scream. Frustration at the Aurakle's message was building up within her.

"Girl aren't you going to give those people some refills! They look like they're about to die of thirst. You know they're related to Millie Jean and if Millie Jean is the kinda gossip I think she is she'll talk to Bertha Wells about how you tried to dehydrate her kinfolk. Then Wells will tell her whole uppity lil church and it'll probably get back to boss man. Lord knows boss man is always trying to keep his uppity folks happy. I'd hate to see you lose your job over some uppity folks sweety. So go on and give them their refills."

_I swear just one more word from this lady and she's going to get flung out of the door._

"Rough day?" Cody, one of Halo's younger co-workers, asked. He usually always saw Ms. Harper smile while serving even the rudest customers. Today she seemed to be a bit off. Even with the regulars of the little diner.

"You could say that. The sleep has been at an extreme minimum," Halo replied fighting back the urge to yawn as she headed out into the sea of people and gave an elderly couple their unsweetened teas.

"I tell ya Cody! If we all moved as slow as Harper we'd all die of starvation cuz we wouldn't get to the blasted store to buy us some groceries. Tarnation gal you gotta get some of that lard out ya ass! Not literally of course. You have a beautiful figure. I use to have one like that myself back in high school. The boys fell all over me. I was the star of the show. Even won Prom Queen at the Senior Prom. Those were the days. Before I started popping out chilluns."

_My word in Heaven. I feel for those poor children a thousand times over._

"She's in there? Man to go from Batman protégé to diner waitress? She's taken quite a nosedive for the worse," Captain Cold said with a slight hint of disappointment in his voice as him and his companions looked upon the diner where Violet Harper was now said to be working.

"Not all those with powers seek lives filled with chaos and destruction. I hate dragging her into this. Are you sure she knows something?" Starfire asked a bit anxious at tearing into Halo's new life and thrusting back in the super heroic life. It was a world that Starfire was accustomed to and quite enjoyed on occasion. Halo had her fair share of tragedy though that gave her a different opinion of the situation.

"Its not her that knows something. It's the Aurkale that lives within her. That creature is ancient and its knowledge expansive. If it can't define exactly what it is that I think I'm looking for then nothing else can," Kanto explained the taste of the hunt salivating on his lips. He was one step closer to understanding and finding the treasure that he felt would make him more powerful than Darkseid could ever hope to be.

"Lets go in there and interrogate the woman already!" Knockout yelled growing impatient with the constant back and forth of her companions. With all their talking they could have gotten the information they wanted and be on their quest.

"NO! We wait until she leaves her place of employment. I will not see you tear down the life that she is trying to build for herself. Do that and I will make you regret it. Star of Creation or not," Starfire said with a menacing snarl.

Knockout was about to pounce on the Tamarian, but a calming hand from Kanto stayed the Fury, "We're going to do this Starfire's way for now. But if things get out of hand we're going to take over."

"Fine, but if you get out of hand I can't say what I won't do," Starfire warned.

"Fair enough," Kanto replied.

Violet Harper plopped on her couch and took a deep, long breath. It had taken all her willpower not to vaporize Ms. Coon in a way reminiscent of the new War of the Worlds. On top of that if another customer had spilled their soda on her she was going to start rolling heads out the door. Of course to top off the day Cody almost set her apron on fire. He'd be the last person she would get mad at though. At least he was genuinely concerned with her mental state throughout the day.

"Halo we need to talk."

Rising up quickly from her comfortable position on the couch Violet looked behind her to see Starfire standing by the curtains. Looking dumbfounded Halo said, "You were the last person I ever expected to pay me a visit. Did Nightwing send you because Batman told him to?"

Laughing Starfire shook her head, "No. Dick has a bit more sense than that. I've come on my own. Like I said. We need to talk."

Violet digested all that she had been told and finally said, "Guess my dream had a point after all."

"Which is precisely why we need you to try and access the Aurkale within you. If at all possible," Kanto said.

"Just to let you know. I'm still a bit freaked out I'm having a super villain convention in my living room."

Starfire grinned, "Trust me. It's not as bad as spending almost a whole day with them."

Halo smiled at Starfire and sat back to begin concentrating. She wasn't even really sure how to go about this, but she needed to clear her thoughts. Give way to the Aurkale. Let him take over. Trying to clear her mind wasn't working one bit. She kept thinking about Captain Cold going berserk and making her house an igloo. The thought of Knockout sitting on her furniture drove her up the wall. As big as that brute was she was probably breaking the frame. But then she thought of Starfire and the desperation she must have been under to ally herself with these people. Halo knew what it was like to feel alone and she could only imagine the tremendous loneliness that Starfire must feel everyday. To know that you are one of a kind in the entire universe must be a chilling thought. It was that thought that allowed Halo to submerge herself.

"I think its working. She's starting to glow purple," Captain Cold said hoping that things could finally really get rolling like he had hoped they would have quite a few hours ago. Honestly, he had expected Halo to take some lotus position or something while doing her switcheroo. In actuality she had just plopped herself down on a couch and went to meditating. It wasn't dramatic, but hey if Snart wanted entertainment he knew of plenty of places he could get it.

Starfire slowly began to inch away from Halo, "Be ready to fight! That's no longer Halo!"

Before Knockout could even reach out and give the first blow a large beam of orange energy hit her and sent her flying through the wall and two other apartments. An elderly woman screamed at the sight of the muscular female crashing through her wall. She had simply been enjoying her daily dose of Wheel of Fortune, but today would be different. With energy that she didn't knew she had, she leaped over the unconscious body of Knockout and ran out of her door.

"The Aurkale isn't present. We're dealing with Violet Harper!" Starfire explained as she flew forward ready to slam Halo out of the nearby window. With hateful eyes Halo blasted the Tamarian away with a repulsion blast that sent her right over Knockout and into another apartment.

Looking back at Starfire the assassin of Darkseid pulled out a sharp edged boomerang and flung it forward at Halo. The weapon hit Halo in the waist and sent her flying out the window that Starfire had intended to send her through. Halo would be unable to fly as the weapon would stick to her waist and only gain more mass as she descended to the Earth below.

"Cold immobilize her!" Kanto ordered harshly as he ran to the window to look and see how far Halo had to go before hitting the ground. He needed her and the Aurkale in her to survive. A smack with the concrete might not help in that endeavor.

"Move out of the way then!" Snart yelled as he pushed Kanto to the side and aimed his gun out the window and sent down a blast that encased Halo in a very thick ice cube.

"Knockout and Starfire! Get up and hurry downstairs to the street! Snart and I shall need your assistance!" Kanto commanded as he leaped out of the window with a cat's grace.

Captain Cold looked at Kanto waywardly and turned up his nose, "I'll be damned if he thinks I'm jumping out a window."

"You don't have a choice!" Knockout exclaimed as she wrapped one of her arms around Snart and leaped out of the window.

Kanto landed on the street without flaw and looked upon the ice cube that Cold had imprisoned the out of control Halo in. Unsheathing an energy sword Kanto approached the ice block knowing full and well what was to come next. He was a trusted warrior of Darkseid and despite his sly nature he had much more brutality and foresight than his companions got the chance to see.

Halo's glowing body was quickly melting away the ice as she surrounded herself with a heat beam. Slowly the water began to trickle and chunks of ice collided with the concrete. Seeing this Kanto broke into a full sprint and leaped up into the air. His sword extended in length and the weapon went right down the middle of the cube, striking Halo across the shoulder. Harper fell into unconscious as the energy weapon overloaded her nervous system.

Seconds later Knockout with Captain Cold in hand landed on the ground. Kanto looked at them discontented, "You move too slow! She could have become a problem."

"You're an assassin for Darkseid. Please don't act like you haven't fought worse," Starfire said as she descended to the ground.

"We need to move before we have the cops on our ass," Captain Cold demanded, as he broke free of Knockout's grip. He felt as small as a pea when that woman took hold of him the way she did. If she weren't flying through the air with him in tow he would have frozen her solid.

"No! I'm going to get the information we need and now!" Starfire yelled as she barreled forward and smashed through the already weakening ice. The Tamarian wrapped one strong hand around Halo's neck and flew with her into the air.

"Where is the Yughagi Mancur?" Starfire demanded.

Halo smiled, "For me to know and for you to find out!"

A repulsion beam ripped forth from Starfire's chest and sent her tumbling through the air. It had been a powerful attack and Starfire was knocked out cold. Halo was pleased with her attack and descended to the ground where Kanto and the others were poised for attack.

"You three are unworthy of the Aurkale's knowledge!" Halo exclaimed as she entrapped the three in a strong tractor beam. With a sinister smile Violet Harper faded away and gave way to the Aurkale.

"You shall have your taste of my knowledge," the Aurkale said as it overwhelmed the three minds with the various knowledge it possessed. They were weighed down with the rise and fall of civilizations, the birth of new technologies, the clashing of alien egos, and all other things that entailed a culture's birth. The knowledge was too much for even Kanto to handle and all three passed out.

The Aurkale lifted the three up into the air and launched them off into the horizon as if they were rag dolls and then the ancient alien of the Source turned to the broken Starfire who was weakly descending out of the rubble she had created.

"You on the other hand are indeed worthy of my knowledge," the Aurkale said with a gentle smile.

"Why the struggle?" Starfire asked between painful breaths.

"Kanto and the others needed to be disposed of. Don't worry. You will see them again."

Starfire's eyebrows perked up at that comment, "What do you mean?"

"My precious child. The item you seek is hidden beneath the very surface of Apokolips. It is there you must go if you dare to seek out the Yughagi Mancur," the Aurkale explained knowing the dread and disappointment that it was filling Starfire with.

Balling up her fists Starfire said through gritted teeth, "Anything for Tamaran."

Starfire lived for her people and even though they might be gone she would never stop living for them. Tamaran called her name and even if that voice was calling from Apokolips it was where she would go.

**Author's Notes**

**Hey guys this is the first piece of Brent Lambert Presents at JLU and I must admit that it turned out far better than I could have ever anticipated that it would have. I had fun working with all these characters that Curt chose for me and I'm having a grand ole time writing for JLU. I definitely have more stories in mind for this site and look for an announcement very soon as to the nature of that. See you guys around and bug Curt so he'll write his BLP piece faster. **

**-Brent C. Lambert**


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